My work is an attempt at exploring what remains of the past, the turmoil of displacement, and the negotiation in a new environment. Using video, sculpture, painting, and installation, I examine with both humor and tragedy how history narratives are constructed, rewritten, and lived. In doing so, I hope to not only resist memory obliteration, but also utilise my experience of physical displacement as a critical perspective.
Born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1973, Adel Abidin earned a Bachelor’s degree in Painting from the Academy of Fine Arts, Baghdad (2000), and a Master’s degree in Time and Space Art from the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki (2007). Since representing Finland at the Nordic Pavilion of the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007, Abidin’s work has been exhibited internationally at major museums, biennales, and institutions across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and North America. Abidin has received several prestigious awards, including the Ithra Art Prize (Saudi Arabia, 2023), Alumni of the Year at the University of the Arts Helsinki (2022), the Finland Prize for Visual Arts (2015), and an Ars Fennica nomination (2011). In 2026, his work THE REVOLT – A Study on the Zanj Rebellion (869–883 AD) will be on view at Art Basel Qatar (with Galerie Tanit).